"Yes." The doctor took out a small mirror. "Look at your face, it's pale, and your lips are a bit bluish. Is there anything wrong with your body?"
Xiang Lan didn't reach for the mirror. Her body trembled slightly as she said, "Doctor, I am indeed feeling unwell, but it's definitely not because of anything wrong with the baby."
The doctor seemed a little nervous and asked, "What's wrong?"
"My stomach is hurting, it started right after the checkup, but I think I have to persevere and hear the results, right?" She opened her coat, revealing a close-fitting, elastic garment underneath. You could clearly see her belly rising and falling with the baby's movements, and the amplitude was so great that it was more than just simple fetal movement.
"You little girl, how come—" The doctor got up, reached out and touched her belly, counted the fetal movements for a while, then asked her to sit on the small bed next to him for examination. He put on gloves and examined her lower body, then frowned and said, "Too fast, she's already dilated to four centimeters in just a short while. She must go to the delivery room immediately."
She took off her gloves, picked up the phone, and contacted the delivery room to send a bed to take over the patient. She stepped forward and called to Fang Zidu, saying, "Your wife is about to give birth; she's already four centimeters dilated. Immediately contact the maternal and child health center to transfer all her documents and records over, and expedite the admission procedures. Also, prepare everything needed for delivery—"
Fang Zi's face turned deathly pale. "Doctor, why is this happening? There are still more than twenty days until my due date—"
Premature birth may be caused by fluctuations in the pregnant woman's psychological state.
Xiang Lan lay on the small bed, too afraid to move, but she was thankful. Her sweet baby knew that his father didn't want him anymore and that he was struggling to survive.
Chapter 61
Xiang Lan hadn't expected that the entire childbirth process would be devoid of any human dignity. She was dragged to the delivery room by the doctors and treated like an animal, stripped naked, shaved, given injections and examinations, and strapped with various data transmission cables. The curves representing her physical condition on the monitoring screen fluctuated wildly, and medical staff issued various commands. She was so anxious that even her mother had said that if she could have a natural birth, it would make her child feel safer in this world.
She asked the doctor, "I want to have a natural birth, is that possible?"
"No." The doctor was busy treating her body. "The fetal heartbeat is unstable. We must have a cesarean section immediately."
After that, a nurse hurriedly went out to find a family member to sign the papers.
She was a little confused about what happened after that, probably because the anesthesia took effect too quickly.
When she woke up, she was startled awake. She immediately got up, felt a sharp pain, and screamed.
"Xiang Lan—" Fang Du poked his head in from outside the tent, "Awake?"
She looked at him; his eyes were bloodshot, his lips were cracked, and she asked anxiously, "Where's the baby?"
"Here."
"I want to see," Xiang Lan insisted. "Bring it to me to see—"
Fangzi carefully pushed the crib over, and a little guy with rosy cheeks was sleeping peacefully inside, with his two little fists placed next to his head, his little mouth pouting, his eyelashes long and curled, and even his hair very thick.
She looked at him for a while, then looked up at him and asked, "Where's my mom?"
"Mom was tired after watching over us all day, so she went home."
Only then did I realize that it was already dark outside.
“He—” Xiang Lan’s mouth trembled, unsure of how to ask.
"The doctor has checked everything, and the baby is fine." Fang Zidu's voice trembled slightly. "Except for being a little underweight, everything is normal. He's a perfect baby."
"Really? You're not kidding me?"
"Really, I'm not kidding."
Xiang Lan collapsed onto the hospital bed, only then realizing that her eyes were wet with tears. She reached out and pulled the crib closer to her, turning her head to look at him, a strange feeling rising in her heart. This little guy, who came from her body, whose life originated from her, had brought her more fear and pain than joy so far, but she absolutely could not lose him.
Why didn't he cry?
"He's asleep."
Xiang Lan listened intently, but the baby's breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible. Worried, she poked his delicate skin with her hand until his hand moved, and only then did she feel relieved.
"Sleep a little longer, it's still a while before dawn." Fang Zidu sat in the chair and helped her pull the blanket up. "I'll take good care of him."
She looked up at him, her eyes still glistening with tears, but filled with distrust.
When will the nanny arrive?
“Because the time is so far in advance, the earliest the postpartum nanny we contacted can come is next week, and the housekeeper will be here in half a month.” He held her hand. “But don’t worry, I’ve already taken ten days off, and my mother and the housekeeper will also come to help.”
"I want my mom to take care of me." Xiang Lan tried to pull her hand back forcefully, but it hurt when she tried.
"No—" Fangzi paused, "Mom is old and in poor health. She can't manage on her own, and my sister-in-law is about to give birth."
Xiang Lan didn't answer him. Instead, she put her ear close to the baby's face, listening to his rhythmic breathing. It sounded as if there was something in his throat. She said, "I think his breathing sounds off. Can you go find a doctor?"
Fang Zi glanced at her, nodded, and said, "Don't worry, there's a little amniotic fluid in her throat—"
"Go see a doctor, I want to hear what the doctor has to say."
He immediately went out, and a moment later came in with a young pediatrician. He asked Lan anxiously, "There's been a gurgling sound coming from his throat. What's going on?"
After examining her for a while, the doctor said, "There's a little amniotic fluid. She choked on it a few times in the womb, but she's fine and will cough it out on her own. If you're worried, just pat her back."
"Give him to me, I'll pat him," Xiang Lan said unhappily.
"Let me do it." Fang Zidu carefully picked up the baby, placed him on his shoulder, and gently patted his back.
The child was so small that he could almost wrap his hand around him, and so fragile that his whole body seemed to be soft.
She listened to him pacing back and forth in the room for almost half an hour. The child coughed twice, and he said softly, "All done."
He bent down to put the child down, a small water stain on his shoulder.
Xiang Lan couldn't sleep at all; her mind was racing. She had so many questions, but she didn't want to hear Fang Zidu's explanation. She longed for dawn to break quickly so her brother and mother could arrive soon. But things didn't go as planned. She counted the time, but it still seemed to pass very slowly until the baby started wailing. In her panic, she tried to get up again.
"Stay in bed." Fang Zidu got up, picked up the child, and touched his diaper. "He peed."
He placed the child on the changing table, untied the diaper, and a small black poop came out.
"What's this?"
"Meconium will only turn yellow after it is passed."
He remained calm, controlling the baby with one hand while using the other to roll up the soiled area and set it aside, then carefully wiped it with a wet wipe.
Xiang Lan then realized that she had given birth to a little girl.
After changing her diaper, the little girl was still crying loudly. Xiang Lan asked anxiously, "Why is she still crying?"
I'm hungry.
He picked up the little girl and gently placed her beside him, saying, "You may not have milk yet, but you should let her suckle. I'll go and make some warm water for her to drink."
She nodded blankly, letting the soft, warm little bundle of flesh rest beside her. As if smelling her mother's scent, she temporarily stopped crying, her mouth moving instinctively. She looked down at her and smiled, but Fang Zidu's hand reached towards her chest, trying to unbutton her hospital gown. She flinched, "What are you doing?"
"Let her suckle; it will stimulate you to produce milk sooner." Fangzi looked exhausted.
"I can do it myself, you can go away."
He stood there stunned for a long time, then got up and went to pour water.
Xiang Lan unbuttoned her shirt and carefully brought it to the girl's lips. She naturally took the girl's mouth in hers; it was a feeling of blood connection. After sucking for a while, the little girl realized she had been tricked, let go, and continued to cry. Xiang Lan was a little anxious and awkwardly patted the girl's small back, but even the slightest movement of the incision site hurt.
"Be careful not to pull on the wound, I'll feed her."
She watched helplessly as the little girl was picked up and placed in the smallest pacifier. She immediately drank from it and soon fell asleep with the pacifier in her mouth. Looking at the little girl's sleeping face, she thought that she looked more like herself. The lights in the room dimmed, and her eyes became blurry as she quickly fell asleep.
She woke up again to the sound of a baby crying, and heard her mother and brother talking. She opened her eyes and saw Liu Zewen's head near the crib, while Xiang Yuan stood awkwardly to the side, as if he was not used to the environment.
"mom--"
"You're awake?" Liu Zewen got up. "How are you feeling?"
"It hurts!" Xiang Lan whined, "Why did it take you so long to get here!"
“You really scared me to death yesterday,” Xiang Yuan said. “Before noon, Mom called, yelling at me to come over immediately, saying you had gone into premature labor and I needed to take all my things to the hospital right away. I ran home to get the things, but before I even got to the hospital, Mom said your condition was bad, the doctors were on emergency duty, and you needed surgery right away, otherwise both you and the baby would be in trouble. By the time I finally got to the hospital, well, the baby was out, but you were still unconscious—”
"You really are a handful." Liu Zewen looked at Xiang Lan. "You've exhausted the whole family. Yesterday, when Zidu was signing documents, he couldn't even hold the pen. But you, you just fell asleep and didn't care about anything."
Xiang Lan remained silent. She still harbored resentment towards him and didn't want to see him at all.
“He didn’t sleep well the night before last, and he was running around all day yesterday. He also stayed up all night taking care of you and the baby. When I came this morning, he looked much thinner. I told him to go have breakfast and I booked a room at the hotel across the street for him to sleep.” Liu Zewen patted her hand. “Mom will take care of you today. Your mother-in-law will be coming in a couple of days. She’s a doctor, so she’ll definitely have experience. Don’t worry.”
Seeing that her hair was disheveled and her expression wasn't good, Xiang Yuan asked, "Are you hungry?"
"Did you exhaust the gas?" Liu Zewen asked.
Xiang Lan felt a little awkward. "Not yet."
"Then you can go hungry for now—"
When can we eat?
"We have to wait until she passes gas," Liu Zewen said. "Now that everything's alright here, you should go and arrange your work. It would be best if you could schedule the time after Hu Li's due date. You only have one mother, and you can't have two people. You have to take care of your wife yourself."
"I know, I'll be going now."
Liu Zewen looked at Yuan and said, "Judging from your current state, Mom still harbors resentment towards your brother and Zidu."
Xiang Lan pouted and didn't say anything, but reached out to grab the little chubby hand. With such soft and tender skin, who could bear to hurt such a little angel?
“No matter what you’re thinking, just take good care of yourself during your postpartum period. Don’t get angry or cry, or you’ll suffer when you’re old. If you want to settle accounts, wait until after 45 days, then we’ll settle them slowly—” She got up to check the ward, guessing that the little girl should be awake by now. She checked the changing table, bottles, and various other items, and nodded, “Zidu has arranged all of this quite well. I was worried that he wouldn’t know how to take care of a baby since it’s his first time being a father.”
"He doesn't want it—"
"What did Mom just say? Have you forgotten again?"
Sure enough, before the two could even settle their differences, the little girl started crying again, her eyes closed and her little fists flailing in the air, so they had to call a truce. Xiang Lan watched her mother handle her with such haste and force that she watched in alarm as her mother lifted the little girl's arm with one hand to turn her over and change her diaper, and said cautiously, "Mom, that's not how you do it."
Liu Zewen glanced at her, ignored her, tore off the diaper, wiped it clean with a wet wipe, and was about to put it back on when Xiang Lan hurriedly said, "Mommy, you also need to wash it clean with warm water, dry it, and then apply powder—"
"You're quite capable, aren't you? You even taught him?" Liu Zewen let go. "Troublesome. This is fine. Children have a lot of vitality."
Xiang Lan chuckled dryly; she did indeed see that the prescription for changing a diaper involved many steps.
After giving him some water, a nurse came to pick up the little one, saying she was taking him swimming. Liu Zewen quickly followed, and the ward was empty. Xiang Lan got up and struggled to get off the bed, feeling waves of pain throughout her body. She slowly made her way to the bathroom, truly grateful that her family had secured such a private room for her; otherwise, in her current condition, squeezing into a large ward would have been unbearable.
She ran her fingers through her hair; it was tangled, the roots damp with sweat and then drying naturally, leaving it smelling strongly of sweat. Her stomach was mostly flat, but it ached slightly. She quickly rinsed her mouth with warm water, wiped her face, and then moved back to her original position.
Before they even reached the bed, the door opened, and Fang Zi walked in, still damp from the heat. Seeing her standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, he put down the bag of odds and ends he was carrying, picked her up, and put her back on the bed.
Xiang Lan glanced at the time; it was only ten o'clock. This person really thought he was Superman, coming over again after only a few hours of sleep.
"pain?"
She nodded.
"The doctor will come and massage your lower abdomen later to help contract your uterus." Fang Zi covered her up and said, "I need to go get the baby's birth certificate. What do you think should be her name?"
Author's Note: This story is nearing its end. Thank you to all the little angels who have supported me, showered me with flowers and comments, and especially to those who sent me thunderbolts and nutrient solutions. I won't list them all!